Kindred Spirits
by XxDarkAngel1127xX
Summary: Why Kenpachi Zaraki doesn't have a fourth seat. Eventual KenpachixOC. Slow build up. Rated M for violence, language, innuendos, and safety. No lemons or limes.
1. Episode 1

**A/N: Akane has short red hair and grey eyes. She is 5'5.**

 **This is an idea that had been floating around in my head for quite a while, so I decided to write it.**

 **As for my other stories, I'm not sure how I would continue them since I seem to have lost my inspiration. I am trying to get back into the groove of writing again, but I cannot make any promises.**

 **Updates will be irregular because I am still in school and how often I update will depend on how much homework I receive.**

 **I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

Akane was on her daily run when she heard fighting nearby. Curious, she quietly jogged over. When she arrived on scene, she saw a boy with the brightest orange hair yelling at a wannabe skater gang. Beside him, was a fallen vase of flowers; a memorial for the dead girl anxiously standing behind the boy. Akane's heart ached. It always did every time she saw a child with the damned chain protruding from their chest. Akane walked over softly to the girl.

"Hello," she said.

The girl met Akane's dark grey eyes in shock, "Y-you can see me?"

Akane nodded, "Yes. Are you alright?"

The girl blushed and nodded with a shy smile, "Yes, they just scared me."

"It's alright now; your friend will take care of them."

"W-We're sorry!"

Akane looked up just as the group of skateboarders tripped over each other trying to get away from the orange haired teen. As soon as they were out of sight, he sighed and the tension leaked out of his body. He turned around to pick up the fallen vase.

"I'll bring you some fresh flowers tomorrow," he said eyeing the girl beside the ghost carefully.

"Thank you," she replied gratefully. "I think I'll be able to pass on peacefully now."

"Don't mention it. It's about time you passed on."

The soul nodded and disappeared. Akane watched in relief.

"You can see them too?" Ichigo asked the red haired girl.

Akane nodded, "Yeah. You go to Karakura?"

"Yeah, do you go there too? I don't think I remember you."

Akane nodded her head, "I'm in 1-C."

"Oh, I'm in 1-A, which might explain why I don't know you," Ichigo hummed thoughtfully, "Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Akane Mori. It's nice to meet you too, Ichigo."

* * *

"I'm back," Akane announced taking off her running shoes.

Urahara poked his head out from the back, "Welcom back, Akane-chan! How was your run?"

Akane shrugged. "It was okay. Do you need any help with the store?"

"How kind of you!" Urahara exclaimed snapping his fan open. "Hmmm, I guess the shelves do need to be restocked."

Akane nodded and rolled up her sleeves before heading to the back to grab the extra supplies.

It only took about an hour to fully restock everything and for Urahara to come back from whatever it was he did.

"Thank you so much, I don't know what I'd do without you!" the shopkeeper exclaimed.

Akane stared blankly at him. She would never get used to his odd behavior.

"So, are you excited for school tomorrow? Any plans?" he asked fanning himself.

"Tatsuki has a karate competition tomorrow, and she asked me to be one of the score keepers, so I'll be home late tomorrow," Akane replied. "Oh, that's right! I met someone from Karakura today on my run. His name is Kurosaki Ichigo."

Urahara stopped fanning himself. She didn't notice.

Akane put the last box into the recycling bin and stretched, "Well, I'm beat. I want to get some rest for tomorrow."

"Okay!" Urahara said. "Goodnight, Akane-chan!"

The blond man watched his ward disappear into her room from behind his fan. As soon as she was out of sight, he closed his fan and let out a sigh.

* * *

 _She was running._

 _"_ _Get back here, you thief!"_

 _Akane clutched the dusty leather bound book closer to her chest and ran picked up her pace. She felt tired. How long had she been running from the surprisingly persistent shopkeeper? She glanced around, looking for any escape routes. There! The marketplace! She sped up again and ran headfirst into the crowd, skillfully weaving her way around the other inhabitants of the dingy area. She heard crashing noises behind her and heavy footsteps getting fainter. Looked like her idea was working._

 _"_ _When I get my hands on you…" the balding shopkeeper threatened._

 _Akane looked behind her. He was gaining on her again. He swung the stick in his hand aggressively to make his point. Damn, why did her want the book back so much? It wasn't like he was going to read it or sell it. It just sat in the corner collecting dust. She stuck her tongue out at him, unable to help herself; he was just such a stingy man. Suddenly, pain erupted on her behind._

 _"_ _Ow," she winced._

 _Crap, she had bumped into someone. This would definitely slow her down. She looked up, about to apologize to whomever she bumped into, and froze. In front of her stood the tallest man she had ever seen. He had dark green eyes with a scar running down the left side of his face and wild black hair that suited his unkept appearance._

 _"_ _S-sorry," she apologized dazed._

 _"_ _I'm going to get you!"_

 _Akane's heart skipped a beat when she heard the shopkeeper's voice. Shit, she didn't have time to run. She would have to hide. Thinking quickly, she dove behind the man and pressed herself to his back, trying to make herself as small as possible. She prayed that the large man wouldn't move or decide to tell the angry man where she was. The shopkeeper stopped just in front of the man Akane was hiding behind. He looked around frantically an angry snarl sitting on his face._

 _"_ _You!" he said pointing his stick at the large man. "Have you seen a girl run by here? She has red hair."_

 _The scarred man glared at the stick in his face and then at the shopkeeper. He gripped the stick in his hand and shattered it. He obviously did not appreciate being threatened. The shopkeeper took a step back, anger tinged with fear._

 _He cleared his throat, "S-sorry, she isn't here. My bad."_

 _He ran off quickly. Akane waited half a minute longer making sure she couldn't hear the man's heavy footsteps anymore. She peaked out from behind the man she hid behind; all clear. She stepped out of his personal space._

 _"_ _Thanks for your help," she said gratefully._

 _She didn't flinch when he focused his attention on her. Maybe it was the girl on his shoulder._

 _He grunted, "Whatever, I just didn't like weaklings like him trying to threaten me."_

 _She smiled, "Still, thank you."_

 _He grunted again and started to walk away. She chased after him._

 _"_ _Hey, who're you?" she asked. "Where are you from? What's your name?"_

 _"_ _Kenpachi Zaraki."_

 _She stopped walking. He looked back at her raising and eyebrow at her odd behavior. She smiled._

 _"_ _Kenpachi Zaraki, huh?" she said. "That's a pretty good name. I'm Akane Mori."_

Akane woke up in cold sweat, feeling something brush against her very core. The familiarity chilled her to the bone.

* * *

 **The next day…**

Akane brought out her bento from her bag, glancing around the class. Neither Tatsuki nor Orihime were in the class. Tatsuki was probably getting in some last minute practice before her competition, and Orihime had a home economics meeting. The redhead grimaced at the thought of Orihime's cooking, suddenly feeling a lot less hungry. She put away her lunch with a sigh. What was she supposed to do now? There were still 20 minutes before her next class, and none of her friends were here (Chizuru did not count, no matter how much Orihime insisted she was). Maybe she could go talk to Ichigo? He said he was in class 1-A. She got out of her seat and made her way down the hall. She slid the door open, and immediately spotted Ichigo. He was sitting with a couple of his friends; and ordinary brown haired boy, a baby-faced boy, and the tallest high school student she had seen.

"Ichigo, I heard a truck crashed into your house," the brown haired student said.

Akane frowned.

"Are you okay?" she asked approaching the students.

"Oh, Akane. Hey," Ichigo greeted. "Yeah, I'm fine. No one was injured."

"Ehhhhhhh, how do you two know each other?! Who are you anyway?!" the brown haired boy exclaimed.

Akane and Ichigo exchanged a look.

"We ran into each other yesterday," Ichigo replied. "Akane, this is Asano Keigo, Kojima Mizuiro, and Yasutora Chad. Guys, this is Akane."

Mizuiro waved and Chad nodded. Keigo bent down and started whispering furiously into Ichigo's ear. The orange haired boy scowled and pushed Keigo's face away. Akane glanced at the confusedly, but didn't dwell on it.

"Do you need help cleaning up?" Chad asked, bringing the conversation back.

"Er, no… That's okay," Ichigo replied.

"Yeah! You'd probably break more stuff than help," Keigo added.

Akane laughed. It was nice that they were close enough to joke like this without feelings being hurt.

"What's your next class?" Akane asked.

"Modern literature, I think," Mizuiro replied.

"Oh, you're Kurosaki-kun?" a new voice asked.

Everyone turned to face the newcomer. She was petite, but pretty with soft black hair that flipped out at her shoulders that was slightly wispier than her own. Ichigo's face slackened in shock and her smile grew.

"My name is Rukia Kuchiki, I'll be sitting next to you from now on," she said.

It was almost comical watching Ichigo freak out.

"Y-you!" he exclaimed pointing at the dark haired girl.

"What?" Keigo asked confused. "What's wrong, Ichigo? Do you know her?"

"Oh, no," Rukia answered pleasantly. "This is our first meeting. Isn't that right, Kurosaki-kun."

Akane somehow found that difficult to believe.

"It's nice to meet you," Rukia held her hand out to the orange haired teen.

They definitely knew each other Akane decided, watching them walk out together.

"That was weird," Keigo commented.

Akane hummed in agreement and the conversation picked up where it left off.

"So have you been at Karakura for the entire year? What class are you in? Did you and Ichigo only run into each other? Where do you live?" Keigo babbled.

"That's creepy, Asano-san," Mizuiro said tapping at his phone.

Keigo started crying as Mizuiro continued his relentless verbal assault. She wasn't listening though. She was busy watching Ichigo yell at Rukia outside. Her jaw nearly dropped when she saw Rukia slam her gloved palm into Ichigo's chin. His body fell to the ground lifelessly but, Ichigo was still standing, dressed in familiar black garbs. What the hell? There were two Ichigos? She looked away and closed her eyes. A faint throbbing made its presence known in her head.

"Hey, you okay?" Mizuiro asked, noticing Akane's lack of participation in the conversation.

She pushed the thought of Ichigo in the black robes out of her mind and tried to control the pounding in her head.

"Yeah," she replied. "I'm fine."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome and appreciated.**

 **Please feel free to alert me of any mistakes.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter 1 has been edited a little since I didn't like how it was before. The changes are small so you can skim it quickly.** _Italics_ **are memories.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

 **A couple days later…**

Akane walked in on Rukia and Ichigo on the roof. The dark haired girl was staring ate the juice box with such intensity that Akane feared that it would implode.

"You guys are awfully friendly," Mizuiro teased.

"Mizuiro, Akane," Ichigo greeted, signature scowl on his face. "Does it look like we're friends?"

Akane blinked, "You're not?"

"Well if you wanna deny it, that's okay," Mizuiro shrugged. "If you ask me you should really start caring about what other people will think if you say things like that?"

Ichigo poked a hole in his juice box, and scowled, "Huh? If I did I would have dyed my hair black a long time ago."

Mizuiro sighed, exasperated, "That's true."

"Oh this is it!" Rukia cut in, frowning at the straw in her hand. "But where does it…?"

"Hello, Kuchiki-san," Mizurio greeted.

"Oh, hello…" Rukia frowned, unable to remember his name.

"Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves, have we?"

"I'm Akane Mori, I'm in class 1-C," Akane introduced.

"I'm Muzuiro Kojima. I like –"

"Hitting on girls," Ichigo cut in bluntly.

Mizuiro's jaw dropped, "What?! No, it's not! That was mean."

Akane giggled at their antics.

"He may look innocent, but he's a total womanizer," Ichigo continued. "Be careful, you two."

Mizuiro shushed him, "You'll ruin my image!"

Ichigo shrugged.

"Besides, I'm only interested in older women," Mizuiro added.

Akane laughed.

"That's why I told her to be careful," the orange haired teen muttered to himself.

"Whoa, do my eyes deceive me?!" Keigo exclaimed from the entrance of the rooftop. "Do I see our new lovely transfer student, Kuchiki-san? Why are you here?"

"Ichigo hit her up and brought her up here," Mizuiro said pointing at his friend.

Ichigo blushed, "Wha–? No! It's not like that!"

Rukia went on oblivious to the rest of world, still trying to figure out where to poke a hole in the juice box.

Keigo cried tears of joy, "Good job, Ichigo!"

"Oh, if you ever need anything, just ask!" he announced.

Rukia smiled excitedly, "Really?"

She held out her juice box.

"Of course!" the brown haired teen stepped back and bumped into Chad. "Oh, hey, Chad."

He lifted his hand in a silent greeting.

"You're injured," Akane noted the bandage around this head.

"Yeah, what happened?" Ichigo asked in concern.

"A steel girder fell on me yesterday," Chad replied.

"What?!" Keigo exclaimed. "A steel girder?!"

Chad nodded, "A motorcycle hit me too, which is why my arm is injured. The rider was hurt pretty bad so I carried him to the hospital. I just got back."

 _Is he crazy?_ Akane thought.

"That's why you're late?" Ichigo asked. "I'm just wondering what exactly you're made of."

Chad didn't reply and put the bird cage down, piquing everyone's interest.

"Hey, what's with the bird?" Keigo asked.

"Hello, my name is Shibata Yuichi," the bird introduced himself. "What is your name?"

Everyone stared at the bird in shock.

"Whoa," Keigo admired. "This bird can seriously speak."

Ichigo and Rukia's eyes met. Akane looked away.

"Chad, where did you get this cockatiel?" Ichigo asked, still in shock.

"Yesterday," he paused. "I got it."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Keigo demanded. "You totally shortened the story! C'mon tell us the whole story!"

"I didn't shorten the story," Chad replied, pulling out some bird-feed.

Akane took a seat next to the silent dark skinned teen.

"Can I feed him too?" she asked.

Chad nodded and poured some seeds into her hand. They settled into a comfortable silence.

"Where did you go to middle school?" Chad asked after a moment.

"I was homeschooled," Akane replied drawing her hand back from Yuichi. "You know that small candy store in the Mitsumiya district? Urahara Shop?"

Chad nodded, "I didn't know they offered that."

"They don't. I live there; Urahara-san is my guardian."

The Mexican looked up in shock and then back down at the bird, "I'm sorry."

Akane looked at him, confused, "For what?"

"Your parents. They're not around."

She shrugged, feeling a little self-conscious, "It doesn't matter; I don't remember them."

An awkward silence fell between them.

"Don't feel bad," Akane said quickly. "I don't remember much before eighth or ninth grade. I think Urahara-san said I was in an accident, but I don't remember it."

The silence stretched on.

"Besides," she continues. "It's okay if my memories don't come back. I have a new life with new people who care for me. I'm not lonely because I have Jinta, Ururu, and Tessi-san to keep me company."

Chad nodded slowly, "That's a good way to think about it. You have us too."

The Mexican teen glanced toward Keigo, Mizuiro, Ichigo, and Rukia. Akane followed his gaze, and smiled.

"Yeah," she breathed. "I do."

* * *

Ichigo silently cursed in his head. How did things get so bad in just one night?

"Chad's being stalked by a hollow," saying it aloud didn't help. "Dammit, if we wait till he gets attacked, it'll be too late!"

Ichigo clenched his fists and started to think harder. What could he do? From Rukia's explanation, a hollow hiding in the space between the Soul Society and the World of the Living wouldn't pop up on the radar. How were they going to find it before it found Chad?

 _We gotta find a way somehow…_ he thought.

"That's it!" he exclaimed turning to Rukia. "That cockatiel Chad was carrying! We can follow the ghost in the bird to Chad!"

"That's impossible!" Rukia replied immediately.

Ichigo only became a shinigami a few nights ago. There was no way he'd be able to find the cockatiel's reiraku now. The fool.

"Here goes…"

Ichigo closed his eyes and focused his mind. A thin layer of reiatsu surrounded his body.

 _Impossible,_ Rukia thought. _Even I can't sense such a weak spirit._

The blue particles started gathering as Ichigo increased his reiatsu. They became more and more condensed until they finally became free flowing ribbon. All of them were white except—

"Found it!" Ichigo exclaimed grabbing one of the white ribbons. "This way!"

Ichigo took off in the direction the ribbon had pointed to.

Rukia stared in the same spot in shock; _I know there were no other shinigami stationed in Karakura. Even if there were, the red reiraku shouldn't be so faded. So, what was that?_

"Hey, Rukia!" Ichigo called. "You coming?"

Rukia jolted from her thoughts, "Y-yeah!"

She would have to think about the other red ribbon later; right now she had to focus on saving Chad. She tucked the memory of the faded reiraku in her head and followed after Ichigo.

* * *

Akane hummed softly to herself, swinging the grocery bag in her hand gently. What should she make for dinner today? She had the ingredients for curry or fried rice. Maybe she should try something new? Rapidly approaching footsteps pulled her out of her thoughts. Before she knew it, someone had run right into her. Akane felt a flare of annoyance and glared at the perpetrator.

"Sorry," Ichigo said.

Her glare disappeared as soon as she realized it was Ichigo. He was sweating and out of breath, a panicked look on his face.

"It's fine," she said, rubbing her shoulder. "Where are you off to?"

He didn't seem to hear her question, already starting to head off, "I'm really sorry! I'll make it up to you!"

Akane stared at his retreating back.

"What was that all about?" she asked herself.

 _He looked kinda scared. Maybe I should follow him?_

Akane weighed her choices. Suddenly, she felt a pressure pushing down on her. The air felt thicker and a horrible screeching noise filled the air. Her head throbbed painfully. Hands covering her ears, Akane looked around. Ichigo was still running, his silhouette becoming smaller and smaller with every passing second. Without thinking, Akane took off after him. As she followed him, Akane couldn't help but notice that the closer she got to Ichigo, the heavier the pressure got. It wasn't hindering her movements or bothersome; it was just a presence. The orange-haired teen rounded the corner sharply, and Akane picked up her pace. She let out a small squeak and quickly threw herself back around the corner, hand over her mouth.

 _What... What the hell was that?!_

Taking a deep breath, Akane shakily stuck her head back out. A (very) large frog-like monster lay beneath Ichigo's foot. It was an off green colour with brown accents and a large hole in its chest. Another stab of pain made Akane wince and sit back.

"Damn you, how long are you gonna stand on me?! Who are you anyway?!"

It's warped, slithery voice filled the air, sending a chill through Akane's body.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, age 15," Ichigo declared. "I'm a substitute shinigami."

 _Shinigami..._

Akane winced again at the insistent throbbing pain in her head. Why did that word sound so familiar? She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the pain.

 _"I want to become a shinigami!"_

 _"Huh? Why would you wanna do that?"_

 _"Because!"_

 _Akane received an unimpressed look from him. She looked down at her lap._

 _"Because I'm not strong like you," she murmured wringing her fingers. "I'll get hurt again."_

 _Kenpachi watched her for a moment, "Idiot, that's what I'm here for."_

 _She got to her feet, fists clenched, "But what if you're not here?!"_

 _Everything suddenly fell silent. Akane sighed, tension draining out of her body._

 _"I just..." she began. "I want to be useful. I know I'm quick, but I have no skill. I'm lucky I've gotten this far without dying or losing a limb or something. I want to be able to keep myself safe. I want to feel safe when I'm alone."_

 _There was still no response from Kenpachi._

 _"Tch, do whatever you want," he looked away. "I'm not gonna stop you."_

 _Akane's bright smile was ignored._

 _"You know," she drawled stepping closer to the large man. "You could always come to the Academy with me."_

 _His head swiveled around in horror._

 _"No," he growled. "There's no way I'm goin' to some pansy ass academy."_

 _"Awww, won't you be lonely when I leave?" Akane pouted, slightly put out._

 _"As if," Kenpachi snorted. "Maybe I'll finally get some peace and quiet without your useless yammering."_

Akane was abruptly jolted from her thoughts when she heard the fighting grow fainter. Ichigo and the thing ( _hollow,_ a voice in her head provided) started moving east, toward Tsubakidai Park. She got to her feet, legs shaking from the dream (?) she had just experienced. She came out from behind the corner, and walked toward the direction of the fighting.

"Akane!"

Her head shot in the direction of her name. Chad and Rukia looked at her in shock. Yuichi sat in his cage with a sad look on his face.

"Akane," Rukia said. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I bumped into Ichigo earlier, and I followed him here," Akane swallowed.

"Wait, Akane, can you see it?" Chad asked, stepping forward.

Akane bit her lip and nodded. Rukia shot her a sharp look.

 _What is up with the people in this town,_ the dark-haired girl thought, feeling a headache approaching.

Rukia sighed, "I'll explain everything after Ichigo takes care of the hollow."

* * *

Akane watched in awe as Ichigo sliced through the hollow's mask in one clean swipe, but... the sky began to darken and the hollow didn't disappear. It continued to shriek as a green light shot from its mask. A large gate appeared, twin skeletons on each door. Akane felt her heart beat faster, and Ichigo took a step back.

"Don't worry," Rukia said. "They're the gates of the Underworld, but they're only opening for _him._ "

The gold chains of the door broke as the gate swung open.

"The zanpaktou can only wash away the sins a soul has committed as a hollow," Rukia explained.

Chains shot out from the gate, attaching themselves to the hollow.

"Those who commit terrible crimes while alive, go to the Underworld," she continued watching the hollow vindictively.

It screamed louder, desperately trying to hold onto what little life it had left. Akane watched with morbid curiosity as it was impaled and pulled into the gate. The shattering of the doors left a tense silence in its wake.

Ichigo spoke first, "So that's the Underworld."

"Let's go," Rukia said turning around.

The orange-haired shinigami sheathed his zanpaktou and followed the petite girl. Akane trailed after them.

* * *

The sun was setting by the time Akane went home.

"Akane-chan, you're back!" Urahara exclaimed. "How was your trip to the grocery store? You're home awfully late, did something happen?"

She breezed by him in a daze, still replaying the day's events in her head.

"Akane?"

Her head shot up.

"Oh! I'm sorry," she apologized. "I was daydreaming."

The shopkeeper hummed, "Dinner is in the fridge if you're hungry."

Akane looked down at her feet, head faintly throbbing, "Sorry, Urahara-san; I think I'm going to go to bed early. My head hurts a lot."

"We have some cold medicine somewhere if you feel sick," he said.

"I'm okay; I'm just going to sleep early."

"Goodnight, Akane-chan!"

The red-haired girl nodded and headed to her bedroom. Urahara held the ridiculous smile on his face for a couple more seconds before sighing. Tessai slid open the door and sat next the the blond shopkeeper.

"She's remembering, isn't she?" he stated.

Urahara sighed again, "It was never supposed to be a permanent solution."

"Still, I thought it would last a little longer," Tessai replied.

"Me too, but with all the events happening and the people Akane surrounds herself with, I'm not surprised that she's starting to remember. I guess it was inevitable."

Tessai hummed thoughtfully.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Notify me if you spot any errors. Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated!**


End file.
